During the use of motorized vehicles, such as all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs), utility-terrain-vehicles (UTVs), and other off-road type vehicles, it is known for there to be axle failures in the form of bending and/or breaking. This can render the vehicle inoperable and the operator stranded, potentially in remote, hard to reach areas. A common response to these bending or break failures is to replace the original manufacturers intended axle with a larger more rigid after-market axle. While this does reduce the chance of axle failure, because it is no longer the weakest link, failures can shift to other components in the drive-train assembly; for example, CV joints and the differential. This is often a more serious and costly failure and is a main reason that axles are normally designed to fail first. Furthermore, in the event that a break in the axle shaft does occur, it typically will leave the vehicle inoperable.
Axle shafts are designed to provide a certain amount of torsional flex. A common, known, approach is to decrease the axle shaft diameter to achieve the desired amount of torsional flex the axle will have for a given applied torque. The function that the torsional flex provides is multi-fold. It decreases the impact to other driveline components during high torque loads that frequently occur during use. It improves fatigue life by absorbing torsional forces and requiring less strain from the axle's material properties. The axle shaft acts as a ‘release valve’ and is typically designed to fail before other components in the drivetrain system. The benefit this serves is offset by an increased proneness to axle bending and breaking due to force shock loads that occur during use. The proposed device inhibits axle bending and absorbs energy, also referred to as shock-load, while allowing the intended torsional flex in the axle shaft to occur, decreasing the chance of failure and extending the life of the axle. Furthermore, in the event that the axle breaks with the proposed device attached, assuming other drive axles are still delivering power to the ground, the vehicle will remain operable.
Having researched and found no prior art, the inventors sought to invent a device to reduce the frequency of these failure occurrences while at the same time preserving the intended function of the original manufacturer's designed-in torsional flex capabilities of the axle.